The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming semiconductor devices and structure.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures to produce semiconductor diodes. Semiconductor diodes, including Schottky diodes, were used in many different applications and were especially useful in power supplies. In these applications, and especially in power supply applications, it was important for the diodes to have a low forward voltage and low leakage current in order to minimize power losses and provide high efficiency. In many cases, the forward voltage of the diode was not sufficiently low to provide the desired efficiency. In other cases, a low forward voltage was obtained at the expense of increased leakage current or higher cost.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a semiconductor diode that has a low forward voltage, that has low leakage current, and that has a low cost.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. Although the devices are explained herein as including certain N-type or P-type materials, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants the edges of doped regions are generally not straight lines and the corners are not precise angles.